Glenn misses older heads

Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) Football Club is located in North London. The club is also known as Spurs. Tottenham's home ground is White Hart Lane. The club motto is Audere est Facere (To dare is to do).

Glenn Hoddle suggested that a little more experience might have reaped the rewards at Filbert Street on Saturday.

But instead the boss pointed to defensive naivety and two debatable goals as Leicester City finally ran out 4-2 winners.

We were 1-0 down after a disappointing first half but came out firing after the break to first level through Simon Davies and then, once City went ahead again, to grab another equaliser via Stephen Carr’s free-kick.

But the game slipped away when Steve Guppy, looking offside, stabbed in Dean Sturridge’s cross for 3-2 and there were question marks about the penalty that sealed the win two minutes from time.

Glenn reflected: “We didn’t start particularly well, negative in the first half but I was delighted with how we played with the ball in the second half.

“With the age of our back four it is very hard to defend over 90 minutes and we didn’t defend well enough to get something out of the game.

“I didn’t think we deserved to lose 4-2, certainly with our second half performance, but it’s a lesson for the youngsters and there is a lot of things that will be studied on the video and it will be a learning curve for them how to defend. That was evident out there.

“We scored two great goals and it looked at 2-2 as if we might have go on to win it.

“We just lacked the experience in the defensive third and if we’d had a couple more experienced players out there we might have won the game. It wasn’t to be with the way we defended from the first minute to the last.”

Glenn believed referee Mike Dean was set to caution Callum Davidson for tumbling in the box when he awarded the match-clinching penalty at the end.

“I didn’t think it was a penalty,” said Glenn. “If anything you get an obstruction. It was a no-through road if you like, bodies in the way and the fella’s dived.

“I thought the ref was going over to book him for a dive.

“At the most, from where I was looking from, it was obstruction. Carry is adamant it wasn’t a penalty.

“The third goal looked a suspicion of offside but I haven’t seen a replay. The best person to judge that is the linesman, he hasn’t given it so we have to take it on the chin.

“We didn’t defend well enough as a team and there are things we have to learn from because at this level over 90 minutes you have to get your positions right. If you don’t you get punished.”